The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to go ahead and conduct a re-run election in Langtang South state constituency without allowing the party to participate as that would amount to wasting the tax payers money.

The party’s warning is coming on the heels of exclusion of the party and its candidate by the electoral body during the forthcoming re-run election for Langtang South state constituency .

It would be recalled that INEC had last weekend fixed February 20, for the re-run and supplementary elections for Langtang South, Pankshin North and South state constituencies in the state.

According to a statement signed by Osaretin Imahiyereobo, the Head of Voter Education / Publicity of INEC, all political parties and candidates that featured in the last election in April are to participate in the supplementary elections for Pankshin North and South.

But in the case of re-run election for Langtang South, the electoral body excluded the PDP and its candidate and insisted that only two of the three political parties and candidates which participated during the previous election would participate.

Those that are qualified to participate according to INEC were Jackson Ninimwang of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Rinsmicit Emmauel of Mega Progressives Peoples Party (MPPP), while Vincent Venman Bulus of the PDP has been excluded.

However, the state Organising Secretary of the PDP, Michael Dachom, described INEC’s exclusion of his party as unacceptable and a misinterpretation of the court judgement which nullified the election.

Dachom who spoke with newsmen in Jos over the issue, stressed that it is wrong for INEC not to involve PDP from the lists of participants for Langtang South election when the Appeal Court judgment did not authorise the electoral body to do so.

He argued that if the party’s candidate during the previous election had been disqualified by the court from re-contesting, what the electoral body should have done was to ask the party to submit another name for his replacement and not to bar the party completely

He expressed the worry that the exercise, if it goes ahead, will only result to wasting public fund as court judgement had been delivered in favour of parties that had challenged such exclusion in courts in many states.

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Plateau PDP rejects INEC’s exclusion in Langtang South re-run election